Killer Opening Songs (Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love) “Phallic rock” at its best

 

By the time Led Zeppelin came off stage at the Chatenay Malabry (Piston 70) in Paris on the 6th December 1969, The Rolling Stones’ free concert in Altamont had yet to start and its sad ‘end of the sixties’ label yet to be coined. In the meantime, the Boeing 747 jumbo jet had already made its debut and the first draft lottery in the US since World War II had also taken place. It is in these circumstances that one of the better Killer Opening Songs of all times must be analysed.

Following their well-received debut album, ‘Led Zeppelin’, released in January 1969, the British band embarked on a series of concerts during the same year promoting material for their sophomore record. From the US to Sweden, from Denmark to Canada, Zep’s bluesy, raw sound seduced thousands of youngsters and enticed a whole generation.

The chemistry between Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played a major role in the band’s ascension to the pinnacle of rock’n’roll. Although, to be fair, it was the group’s ‘fifth’ member, manager Peter Grant, who made the impossible possible: Led Zeppelin remains one of the few bands (K.O.S. cannot think of any other) that never released singles in its entire musical career in the UK, only albums.

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Killer Opening Songs (Cubano Chant by Roberto Fonseca)

Hot on the heels of its musically horizon-expanding predecessor, Yo, comes Roberto Fonseca’s new album ABUC (Cuba, spelled backwards). Once again, the young Cuban pianist delivers a high-quality product full of rhythmical gold nuggets.

Whereas Yo was brawnier and gutsier, from the (perhaps D’Angelo-inspired?) naked-torso front cover to the dizzying piano riffs, ABUC, by comparison, is a much calmer affair. There are still heavy and maddening piano riffs, but the production overall is more balanced. It is also more inward-looking. While Yo looked towards Africa as a bridge-building musical link in the well-acknowledged Afro-Cuban chain, ABUC focuses more on Cuban traditional rhythms.

A good example of this is the Killer Opening Song, written, not by a Cuban, but by an American pianist. Ray Bryant was born in Philadelphia and gained notoriety when he played with the likes of Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. Cubano Chant was one of his more popular compositions.

The way Roberto tackles the tune is so cleverly done that the resulting melody sounds as if it has just been written now instead of more than sixty years ago. Rather than going for speed, as Oscar Peterson famously did when he covered Cubano Chant, he goes for compactness. Horns, percussion and piano jump in from the outset, hand in hand together, each performer taking turns to shine in their own right. Fonseca is not just a very skillful pianist; he has also surrounded himself with very good arrangers. That much is evident from the different layers that peel away as each musician does their solo.

K.O.S. mentioned differences between Yo and ABUC at the beginning of this post. One of the more obvious ones is the guests list. Afro-centric Yo had singers Fatoumate Diawara, Algerian Faudel Amil and Senegalese Assane Mboup. By contrast, UBAC boasts Cuban legends such as Eliades Ochoa, the Aragón Orchestra and Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal.

Listening to Fonseca’s latest album is almost like taking a history lesson on Cuban music, especially in the 20^th century. From the intensity of Afro Mambo to Asere Monina Bonco (with its nod to the oft-misunderstood Abakuá culture), this is an album that wears its Cubanness on its sleeve. The final piece, Velas y Flores is perhaps the perfect example. A mid-song monologue by Roberto Fonseca about what being Cuban means is the sort of life-affirming incantation that makes the denizens of the largest island in the Antilles so proud of their country.

Once more, the Killer Opening Song is the one that opens these richly-textured musical floodgates.



© 2017

Next Post: “Thoughts in Progress”, to be published on Saturday 4^th February at 6pm (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Giant Steps by John Coltrane)

Intensity, high-tempo and rhythmic mastery. Just three of the many words that could apply to John Coltrane’s Killer Opening Song “Giant Steps”, from the same-titled album. If smoothness and subtlety were the mots d’ordre on Blue Note’s release Blue Train, then Atlantic Record’s offering Giant Steps’ were chaos and improvisation. Beautiful chaos and improvisation, K.O.S. hastens to add.

In terms of tenor solo statements, Giant Steps was outstanding. From the outset there was a clear intention from John Coltrane to break away from the foot-tapping sound he had helped create on Miles Davis’ timeless classic Kind of Blue. Saxophone, double-bass, piano and drums kick off together. Rather than a mere time-keeping ensemble piece, Paul Chambers’ bass acts as another level of tonal exploration. This serves both pianist and saxophonist well as their sound swells to unreal levels.

The Killer Opening Song is the gateway to other six musical gems such as Countdown’s blistering, sonic explosion, swinging Syeeda’s Song Flute and self-searching, simple and yet emblematic Naima.

Whereas Blue Train was a sort of bridge between the recent Charlie Parker-driven bebop sound and the smoother Miles Davis’ approach, Giant Steps was the sign of things to come in jazz. More experimental and more outré, this was Coltrane at his peak as a bandleader and composer. Once again, all this thanks to the Killer Opening Song.



© 2016

Next Post: “Thoughts in Progress”, to be published on Saturday 22^nd October at 6pm (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Song 44 by The Gloaming)

Ireland has featured prominently in 2016 on account of the centenary of the Easter Rising, the revolt that laid the grounds for, ultimately, Irish independence from Great Britain.

For Killer Opening Songs Ireland has another meaning: that of a fascinating musical canon. Whether traditional or modern, the repertoire from the Emerald Isle is one to which our regular section always defaults. Tonight it is the turn of a band that, although with only two albums under its belt, has already made its mark.

The Gloaming is a supergroup made up of five successful musicians who first came together in 2011 with the sole purpose of revolutionising Irish music. They have done this by mixing the orthodox with the experimental. The Killer Opening Song of their self-titled debut album is an outstanding example of craftsmanship. On Song 44, singer Iarla Ó Lionáird’s voice lifts and floats as Thomas Bartlett’s piano is kept to almost a whisper. At the same time Martin Hayes’ fiddle lets out a slow, sweet and melodic wail. It sounds like a plaintive note, one that is supported by Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh on hardanger d’amore and Dennis Cahill on guitar. The spectral-sounding track is sung in Gaelic and has an 800-year love story behind it. A man keeps seeing the woman he loves in his dreams. Midway through the song the tempo changes and becomes more upbeat with the familiar Irish jig making its first appearance only for the melody to return to its sombre tone at the end.

Those looking just for foot-tapping music, however, will be disappointed. The Gloaming is more interested in how far they can push the boundaries of Irish music, not how to conform to already-established melodic patterns. The evidence for this is in the rest of the album. Allistrum’s March is a haunting fiddle-driven instrumental. Necklace of Wrens features words by poet Michael Hartnett. Opening Set is perhaps the standout track in the album. A sixteen-minute-long piece, brooding at times, explosive at others, this is the sort of composition that becomes a classic from the word go.

It is always heartening to see musicians, especially those plying their trade in traditional forms, using their left-of-field, creative power to the maximum. The Gloaming is a good example of this and the Killer Opening Song is one again the living proof.



© 2016

Next Post: “Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On”, to be published on Saturday 30^th April at 6pm (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs: "Convoque seu Buda" by Criolo

For more than three decades rap has been mainly known as an Anglophone, US-born, African-American-driven musical phenomenon. At the beginning, lyrics focused more on social and political issues. However, with the passing of time and with the wealth-accumulating habits of certain rap artists, the genre has lost its initial bite somewhat.

Not everywhere, mind you. There still exist places around the world where rap is being used as a weapon of war to address important issues. Killer Opening Songs is proud to introduce an artist who has done precisely this since his scene-stealing debut album No Na Orelha in 2011.

Criolo is a slum-raised Brazilian singer (and singer is the key word here as he not only raps but also has the pipes to deliver some of the most beguiling and beautiful melodies ever. For evidence of this, please, listen to the third track on No Na Orelha, Não Existe Amor em SP). It is to his second album, Convoque seu Buda, that K.O.S. is turning its attention tonight, especially its Killer Opener, the title track. The song builds on the same elements that made its predecessor, No Na Orelha, Rolling Stone magazine’s Best Album of the year almost half a decade ago. There’s the hard-hitting commentary on the economic, social and political situation of Brazil, especially in the build-up to the Olympic Games next year. All this is mixed with catchy, foot-tapping beats and delivered with panache and maturity.

Whilst rap is Criolo’s main means of expression, the album Convoque seu Buda (literally, Invoke your Buddha) is testament to other styles this son of São Paulo has adopted. There is reggae, Afrobeat and samba throughout the record. Killer Opening Songs even detected the influence of Tropicália, the 60s and 70s musical movement that sought to blend different styles such as rock and funk with more traditional Brazilian rhythms. As mentioned before, Criolo is not just an outstanding rapper but also an excellent singer songwriter as demonstrated in the fourth track, Casa de Papelão, a haunting song whose harsh subject matter, homelessness, contrasts beautifully against its sophisticated arrangements. It also has one of the better bass hooks Killer Opening Songs has heard in a long time.

It is again the K.O.S. that is the leading character in this album. Convoque seu Buda, both title track and album show that rap has not died a slow death; killed by corporate appropriation and greed. No, rap has found a new lease of life, but now it is singing in Portuguese… and Spanish.

© 2015

Next Post: “Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On”, to be published on Saturday 12^th December (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs: "Madres" by Daymé Arocena

When it comes to music Killer Opening Songs is usually wary of hype. Big up an artist and call them “the next big thing” and our Regular Section of Introductory Tracks with Homicidal Tendencies will probably be heading in the opposite direction. It is chiefly to do with the fact that when it comes to art, and more specifically, music, K.O.S. likes to do its discoveries by itself, at its own pace and in its own time with no pressure from anybody. Sometimes, though, the hype surrounding an artist is well justified.

Up-and-coming Cuban singer Daymé Arocena deserves all the hype she has generated.

This young chanteuse has managed to combine elements of Afro-Cuban culture, soul, jazz and funk to create one of the albums of the year, Nueva Era (literally, New Era). The Killer Opening Song, Madres, is a fine example of risk-taking endeavour.

Rooted in a music-rich childhood (Arocena claims to have been singing since she was four), Daymé’s sound is one that belies her young age, yet her experience is evidence of her creative power.  She is a choir director, composer and arranger, in addition to being an extraordinary singer. Her background as a choir director shows in this K.O.S., from the multi-layered vocals to the piano and bass arrangements. Madres is about two of the better-known female Orishas in Afro-Cuban culture: Yemayá and Oshún, the two waters, the former is the sea and the latter the river. Sung in Yoruba and Spanish the song marks the arrival of Daymé, not just in the national, but also in the international scene, if reviews of her first concert in London last spring are anything to go by. Here’s an artist with an excellent vocal control and a heightened aesthetic sense.

It is important to highlight Arocena’s command in regards to her pitch-perfect voice. It would be too easy for her to fall into what Killer Opening Songs calls the “Mariah-Carey school of singing”. All high notes for the sake of it. Instead Daymé uses her pipes to explore as wide a range of vocal styles as possible. There is the mind-blowing scat in Don’t Unplug My Body, the soulful lament in the heart-rending “filin” Come to Me and the tongue-in-cheek in the salsa-lite El Ruso.

As mentioned before K.O.S. does not believe in hype. Sometimes, though, it will make an exception. This is one. Go out and buy the album.

© 2015

Next Post: “Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On”, to be published on Saturday 10^th October at 6pm (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (On the Sunny Side of the Street)

Unlike the owner of this blog, Killer Opening Songs digs summer. It is one of its favourite seasons. Summer means optimism, creativity and bonheur. And since the summer solstice has just happened K.O.S. wanted to honour it by bringing you one of those tunes that will leave you licking your lips and tapping your feet. It might even throw a “99” in it. Flake optional.

Dizzy Gillespie’s stature as a trumpeter grew a few more inches with the release of the must-have album Sonny Side Up in 1957. The record not only showed his credentials as one of the most innovative and organically creative trumpet-players in jazz history, but it also demonstrated he had the chops to be an excellent bandleader. At the heart of the success of Sonny Side Up is the Killer Opening Song, On the Sunny Side of the Street. If you are looking for a summer melody, look no further than this starter. It has everything in it. Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt (yes, those two Sonnies) at the top of their game. In fact, the pair slugs it out nicely on the album. In regards to Rollins, this is the period that saw him jump from Blue Note to Metro-Jazz to Contemporary to other labels. As for his opposite number, Sonny Stitt, the slightly older and more seasoned gun-slinger, he had already built a reputation for demolishing up-and-coming cats. The icing on the cake is the spirit-lifting lyrics which Mr Gillespie delivers with gusto and panache: "Grab your coat and get your hat/Leave your worries on the doorstep/Life can be so sweet/On the sunny side of the street". Now, where's my 99?

After a funky, groovy start, second track The Eternal Triangle, brings in a saxophone-driven bebop-themed zesty number. This is followed by Killer Opening Songs’ favourite track, After Hours; a sultry blues that will make you snap your fingers and tap your feet throughout the whole track and beyond. The opening chords are by none other than Ray Bryant (yes, that Ray Bryant! Miles Davis’ Ray Bryant, Art Blakey’s Ray Bryant, Coleman Hawkins’ Ray Bryant) whose beautiful and deft piano-playing serves as a safety net above which all sorts of rhythmic pirouettes are performed.

Last song, I Know That You Know, provides a workout for bassist Tommy Bryant (Ray Bryant’s brother) and drummer Charlie Persip who have to keep up with the pace set by Gillespie, Stitt and Rollins. Great album Killer Ending Song and super Killer Opening Song make Sonny Side Up a smoker of a record to have. And if this is not the sound of summer, K.O.S. does not know what it is. Even if still the owner of this blog refuses to acknowledge the season.

© 2015

Next Post: “Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On”, to be published on Saturday 27^th June at 6pm (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Oyá by Ibeyi)

Wrapped in aromatic minimalist sounds, suffused with palate-enhancing jazzy beats and carried on a platter of ground-breaking electronic melodies, Ibeyi, Cuban twin sisters Lisa Kaindé Díaz and Naomi Díaz’s debut album, is a musical feast.

It is only fair to talk about Ibeyi in culinary terms since it is such a succulent offering. At the centre of it, as usual, is the Killer Opening Song, Oyá. This track is a perfect introduction to the risk-taking approach to music the twins show throughout the entire record.

First of all, they dare to pare down a song dedicated to the most impetuous and violent of the orishas to the basics. For those of you who are not in the know, K.O.S is happy to inform you that Oya’s chants and dances are characterised by a non-stopping, high tempo and frantic rhythm. Oyá is the orisha who challenges the ever-philandering Changó (only to fall for his charms after). She is said to “own” the wind, storms, hurricanes and shooting stars. In this Killer Opening Song all that energy is kept to a minimum. Using this baseline as a starting point the twins then proceed to add layers and layers of vocal power. That such a short piece is so full of magical moments is a testament to the good production and musical arrangement, not only on Oyá, but also in the rest of the album.

K.O.S mentioned magic and two examples jump out: the batá drums break, more than a couple of minutes into the song, and the video. Starting with the latter and going back to Lisa and Naomi’s daring approach, it was a brave move to shoot the video in black and white. If something characterises Oyá is colour. Google up any performance to this orisha and you will see women in multi-coloured dresses. But by resorting to monochromatic tones the twins (Ibeyi translates as "twins" from Yoruba) highlight the other trait Oyá posseses: she “owns” the cemetery and is said to live at its gate. Hence the ghost-like, spectral feel of song and clip and the translucent images of both sisters (their lips do not even move, thus, rendering their appearance poltergeist-like). The break from vocals to batá drums is a masterstroke. It is not just the change in rhythm but also in language. Up until then the lyrics were in English, now it is the time for Yoruba, that ancient lexicon brought to Cuba by hundreds of thousands of slaves.

As a Killer Opening Song, Oyá is the key that unlocks a trove of musical treasures, each unique in their own way. Oshún-themed River has a gospel feel, Mama Says’ early lyricism contrasts beautifully with the Elegguá-inspired ending and Ghosts is full of the same eerie, other-worldly energy that permeates the album, this time with an exquisite tribute to the Giant of Ocha, Agayú.

For those who like their music the same way they like their food, made with love, Ibeyi is the perfect record. Especially for those long summer nights ahead. And once again, it is all down to the magic of the Killer Opening Son.




© 2015

Next Post: “Saturday Evenings: Stay In, Sit Up and Switch On”, to be published on Saturday 16^th May at 6pm (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Outre Mer by Garage a Trois)

As you all know well by now, and if you do not know, then, you should know, Killer Opening Songs is always on the lookout for some good, slow-burning, trail-blazing, soul-enhancing groove. Genres mean nothing to our little friend’s search for melodies that make it shake its you- know-what all the way to the ground. And back up again. This is how K.O.S. came across Garage a Trois.

GaT, as its followers call it, was born in New Orleans (where else but?) as a trio-cum-quartet at the tail end of the 90s. Their first full-length studio album (which is sitting by K.O.S.’s side as it is typing this post) was Emphasizer and it defied genres and styles. Its follow-up, Outre Mer, was even groovier and more uniformly harmonic. This is the one on which Killer Opening Songs is focusing tonight. The title track has all the elements one has come to expect of GaT: strong funk hook, brilliant guitar work, innovative percussion, steady and reliable drumming and an explosive, winner-takes-all saxophonist. And you know what? This is just the opening track.

Charlie Hunter on guitar, Stanton Moore on drums, Mike Dillon on percussion (although it looks more like a xylophone what he is playing in the clip below) and Skerik on saxophone have created the sort of musical landscape that can only come from a place like New Orleans. Like the city itself, GaT’s music is hard to define but easy to fall in love with, even for an entity like Killer Opening Songs, that has never been to the States. At times the melodies are quirky (K.O.S. remembers Plena for my Grundle from their previous record, Emphasizer), on other occasions they are loose and yet there is a tightness all the way throughout their pieces, a togetherness, if you like.

If you are into modern jazz, you will surely become a devotee of Garage a Trois. If K.O.S. were pressed to define their style, our Regular Section with Murderous Tendencies would have to invent a category, like jazz-punk-Latin-funk or something along those lines. Above all, Garage a Trois is groove, just pure groove.



© 2015

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 15^th February at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Song For My Father by Horace Silver)

Kind of Blue is the go-to album for people who are first introduced to jazz. Whether initially averse to the genre or curious about its intrinsic musical patterns, neophytes are usually given Miles Davis 1959 masterpiece as a way to join the ever-expanding jazz community. That is why Kind of Blue has remained such a powerful symbol of the coolness of jazz.

This is not fair on other equally ground-breaking records, however. There’s Alice Coltrane’s harp-driven, lyrical and sublime third album, Ptah, the El Daoud, Mary Lou Williams’ groovy and blues-infused Free Spirits and ass-kicking (pardon K.O.S.’s French) Horace Silver’s 1965 LP Song forMy Father.

Killer Opening Songs will concentrate on the third of these three albums tonight. Inspired by a trip Horace Silver made to Brazil, Song for My Father was one of Blue Note’s signature records from the sixties. Silver’s mother was of Irish and black descent, and his father was originally from Cape Verde. The influence of this ethnic mix on Horace is what makes Song for My Father such an enjoyable record.

Equally, part of what makes the record successful is the Killer Opening Song, the title song that is dedicated to Horace’s father, John Tavares Silva. This melody is quintessential hard bop with a funk element added in for good measure. Uncharacteristically it is not the binomial of drum and bass that kicks off the track but Horace’s deeply, swinging, groovy piano accompanied by tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson (although in the clip below both trumpet and saxophone come in at the same time at the outset). The feel of not just the Introductory Track with Murder Tendencies but of the whole album is one of ebullience and optimism. Calcutta Cutie has an air of eeriness about it whilst Que Pasa is a foot-tapping, catchy little number.

Now that Christmas is almost here, maybe it’s time to revisit your gift lists (if you are in the habit of making them up) and include this gem of a record. After all, it is not only Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue that has the knack to express the coolness of jazz, but also Horace Silver’s Song for My Father. And once again it is partly down to the Killer Opening Song.

© 2014

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 7^th December at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Oganaich Uir a Rinn M' Fhagail by Julie Fowlis)

Killer Opening Songs knows exactly what it likes: lie-ins on Saturday mornings (and Sundays, too, but especially Saturdays), watching films at home as a family (although its choices have been restricted for the last couple of years. There is only so much Tarkovsky and Truffaut K.O.S.’s mucky pups are willing to put up with) and the feeling of the sea caressing its feet.

Killer Opening Songs also likes beautifully expressive singing. The type that unfolds slowly like a journey through mystic lands where the destination matters less than the journey itself. This mystic nature fits perfectly the oeuvre of Scottish singer Julie Fowlis. Since her debut album, Mar A Tha Mo Chridhe (As My Heart Is) she has been at the forefront of the revival of folk music in the UK in recent years. What sets Julie apart from many of her fellow folk musicians is the fact that she sings in Gaelic, plays the pipes, the whistles and delivers her songs with a precision that has more to do with Kate Bush than with the world of  jigs and reels.

Julie’s debut album put her part of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides (usually thought of as a bleak landscape) on the UK musical map. Her record is a beguiling and at the same time upbeat offering. Part of that it’s due to the Killer Opening Song Oganaich Uir a Rinn M' Fhagail (Oh Noble Youth Who Has Left Me), a mesmerising and jolly melody that incorporates various traditional Celtic and non-Celtic instruments. Key to the success of the piece are the arrangements made by Julie’s husband and bouzouki player Eamon Doorley, mandolin player John Doyle and Julie herself.

Versatile instrumentalist, excellent arrange and expressive singer. It is no surprise that Julie’s artistic career goes from strength to strength. Her fifth album came out this year to wide acclaim, both from critics and audience alike. And K.O.S would like to believe that it all started back at the beginning, with a Killer Opening Song.

© 2014

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 12^th October at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Thing of Gold by Snarky Puppy)

Is it funk, is it fusion, is it electronica, is it avant-garde, is it Latin, is it mellow, is it trad, is it experimental? What is it?

 

It’s jazz.

 

Moreover, it’s Snarky Puppy’s jazz and it is “the shape of jazz to come”, to quote Ornette Coleman.

 

Sometimes Killer Opening Songs makes his musical discoveries on his doorstep, as in when he picks up long-awaited CDs shoved through his letterbox, ordered from evil, tax-avoiding Amazon. But occasionally, K.O.S. travels far to dig out new melodies. Far as in going all the way to Glynde Place, near Brighton, in southeastern England, to the Jazz FM-sponsored Love Supreme festival.

 

Forget the hellish journey back home (more than three and a half hours on the road late at night, including a diversion that added an extra hour to the already long drive), the memories of Snarky Puppy’s performance more than made up for any inconvenience suffered. This US band that sprang into the jazz scene in 2004, has been making a lot of noise in the right way ever since, and they have the rich, eclectic and mind-blowing musical output to back up the buzz they have generated.

 

The driving force behind Snarky Puppy is bassist and composer Michael League, yet, it would be wrong to leave out the other band members. Drummer Robert “Sput” Searight, who has collaborated with the likes of Snoop Dogg and London-based Bill Laurance, who has just released a well-received debut album, Flint, are just some of the stars to be found in this combo.

 

Killer Opening Song Thing of Gold appears on Snarky Puppy’s 2012 record groundUP, a combined CD and DVD offer. The track showcases everything that makes this band the future of jazz to come. Beautiful piano and saxo join forces together at the beginning of the song to weave a spellbinding tapestry of rhythm patterns. Strings kick in shortly after and add gravitas to what is already a mesmerising piece of music. The coup de grâce is provided by Texas-born keyboardist Shaun Martin who leads the whole ensemble to a hymn-like finale.

 

Music like this is a joy to listen to. Watching the members of Snarky Puppy perform live at Love Supreme was equally a pleasure to see. And at the centre of it all lies the key: the Killer Opening Song.

 

© 2014

 

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 13^th July at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Heartbreaker Part 2 by Alice Russell)

She might be on the petite side body-wise, but when it comes to her pipes, man, her pipes speak for themselves! Of course Killer Opening Songs is referring to one of the most remarkable British soul artists in recent times: Alice Russell.

It’s true that Russell is not as widely known as she should be but that’s the fickle pop world for you. Luckily, she can always count on a loyal army of followers who continue to buy her records and enjoy her brand of booming, eclectic soul.

In fact when it comes to defining Alice’s music, it is hard to pigeon-hole it, which is the way it should be if you ask K.O.S. Whether accompanied by a big band or playing an “unplugged” session, Russell’s voice always sounds fresh and commands attention. Her fifth album ToDust is no different and that is partly thanks to the Killer Opening Song Heartbreaker Part 2 (funnily enough, this is the sequel to the track called simply Heartbreaker, which appears one song after. Convention-breaker, moi?). Wonderfully delivered vocals by Russell over a sparse Prince-like guitar, is what renders Heartbreaker Part 2 its melodic and funky power. The tempo is up and the bass hook is magnetic. The lyrics are simple but carry a strong message, especially the chorus: “If a broken heart is what you give/then a broken heart is what you get/if a broken heart is what you give/remember, then, a broken heart is what you get”. This is the sort of song that makes you want to get up and dance.

The rest of the album continues in the same vein. Alice Russell is a singer who can deliver in any style. She can do hands-in-the-air-and-sway-with-your-eyes-closed-like-there’s-no-tomorrow as in the title track (another excellent, furious, driving bassline), or she can slow the tempo right down and give you a thoughtful little number like I Loved You (great acoustic version here).

Comparisons with other more established R’n’B, soul and pop singers are unavoidable. But believe Killer Opening Songs when it tells you that the Essex-born, diminutive singer is a force of nature in and of herself. You will not find any yodelling à la Mariah Carey (what happened to the young woman who captivated K.O.S. with “Vision of Love” in the early 90s?) in any of her records. Her approach is more like a veteran all-rounder who knows exactly which buttons to press and when to take the listener to the bridge. Should she take ‘em to the bridge? Oh,you bet, Bobby, you bet! And it’s all thanks to that Killer Opening Song.

© 2014

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 2^nd February at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Illusion by Gregory Porter)

Every now and then a singer comes along who, on first listen, knocks you off your feet. His voice sounds fresh and yet it also has a touch of the old classic about it, his compositions have a modern approach but with a strong nod to the past.

The artist Killer Opening Songs has in mind is LA-born, but currently Brooklyn-based, new jazz sensation Gregory Porter.

Porter’s blues-baritone voice has been ubiquitous in the last couple of years. Not just his voice, mind, but also his tremendous physical presence. A bear of a man, this gentle giant would have been a loss to the jazz world had a shoulder injury not put paid to his American football career. He had been offered a full scholarship to San Diego University based on his sporting prowess. This is one of those occasions when K.O.S. has to say to itself: “what if...?”

Luckily, there’s no “what if...?”. Porter’s debut album, Water, was released in 2010 and it immediately earned the newcomer a Grammy nomination. It is easy to imagine why. The Killer Opening Song, Illusion, slowly peels away the layers of Porter’s many talents from the outset. What renders the track poignant is the subject matter: heartbreak. Not just any heartbreak, this is heartbreak that burns inside, that leaves myriad unanswered questions behind: “I've been searching all the corners of my room/sweeping dust and memories beneath the carpet that we purchased/somewhere on some cool retreat, somewhere in Africa somewhere”

That is just the start of what can be considered already a soul classic. As autumn songs go, this K.O.S. works perfectly for this time of the year, Porter’s articulate lyrics against a background of fallen yellow, orange and auburn leaves. In fact the weather plays an important part in this Killer Opening Song, with the singer building up a beautiful and yet painful simile based on his emotional paralysis: I've been checking for the weather and the time/I'm like a bag above that's dropped and drifting in the wind/that blows from hurricanes that comes just after grey clouds fill my eyes.

Honeyed tones, however, is not the only distinctive feature of Water. This is a very well-balanced album moving from musical brawn (1960 What?) to the title track, an invitation to address life’s essential questions using one of nature’s essential elements. The record closes with one of the better covers K.O.S. has heard recently, an a capella version of Feeling Good, a composition made famous by the inimitable Nina Simone. Well, Gregory Porter’s take on it is just as good.

If you are looking for a satisfying, all-round jazz CD with a dash of blues and old soul thrown in for good measure, Water is the album. And it all starts with Illusion, a monster of a Killer Opening Song.

© 2013

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 24^th November at 10am (GMT)

Killer Opening Songs (Shout by Tears for Fears)

Back in the summer the author of this blog asked his readers and fellow bloggers whether they were children from the 60s, 70s or 80s. The enquiry was related to the clip he’d uploaded on this occasion.

 

Now it’s the turn of Killer Opening Songs to reminisce. Born in the 70s but hooked on 70s music, it was in the 80s when our Introductory Track With Murderous Intentions got its mojo on the dancefloor. From Madonna to Miami Soundmachine, K.O.S was the soul of the party. And then Shout happened.

 

Understand that this was the era of synthesisers. Soft Cell and Human League ruled the charts with their portable consoles, modifying and altering the soundscape of the post-punk musical world. Smoke on stage was everywhere, a legacy of 70s prog- and glam-rock. And in the midst of this mist Shout broke through.

 

Killer Opening Songs still remembers the night it first heard this anthemic melody by the British band Tears for Fears. It is sure it came upon it at a party in El Vedado, a neighbourhood in Havana quite renowned for its cool parties in the mid-80s. The chorus came first: “Shout, shout/let it all out/these are the things I can do without/Come on, I’m talking to you, come on. Cue people on the dancefloor pointing their finger at their dance partner.

 

Shout was the sound of an adventurous band. One that, sadly, didn’t get its due credit at the time. The album, Songs from the Big Chair, was a marvellous blend of pop chart hits and soundtrack quality B-sides. Take another single, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, slower than Shout and with a more foot-tapping beat to it. Mother’s Talk and I Believe were two gorgeous melodies that deserved more airplay in their day. Overall this was an album that was not afraid of sounding modern.

 

The key as usual was the Killer Opening Song. A powerhouse of a tune, Shout was mind-addictive in its time. For weeks (months, even!) after all K.O.S did was repeat the chorus ad nauseum. Almost literally, to the point of nausea. Our Introductory Track With Murderous Intentions could even mimic the mid-song keyboard solo. Forget air-guitar, this was air-piano.

 

There are many songs which could sum up the 80s. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a better example of a song that captured the zeitgeist of this decade like this classic, timeless pop (yes, pop!) feisty number. Ladies and gentleman, join K.O.S. in the chorus:

 

Shout, shout/let it all out/these are the things I can do without/Come on, I’m talking to you, come on.

 

© 2013

 

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: “Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 6^th October at 10am (GMT)